INTRO

M.W. Reynolds provides handcrafted goods for the modern sportsman, specializing in fly fishing, shooting, motorcycles and apparel. After 10 years, the store relocated to a new downtown Denver location and was in need of a brand refresh and marketing to adapt the brand to its new location and expanded target demographic. dfine Branding helped M.W. Reynolds with a variety of branding, marketing, design and communication projects during the store opening and beyond.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

With 10 years of brand recognition and a solid foundational brand in place, dfine Branding developed a refreshed logo for M.W. Reynolds that would be easily recognized by existing customers, but also more modern to appeal to a broader demographic. For the primary logo, we chose a classic and sophisticated serif font and a neutral, timeless gray and gold color palette. We also added “Est 2005” as a tagline to the primary logo to inform new potential customers that while the store location might be new, the brand itself had been going strong for over a decade. We also designed a secondary monogram-style logo with “Denver, Colorado” in the tagline that is better suited for certain usages than the horizontal primary logo, for example on social media images, collateral and ads with a more national presence or where a square format is required.

BRAND MESSAGING + DESIGN

Once the refreshed logos were established, dfine then brainstormed and wrote new audience-specific key brand messaging for use in M.W. Reynolds’ marketing collateral, advertising, social media posts and website copy to help tell the brand’s story. With a goal of attracting a younger demographic, dfine also established a fresh, new look for the brand design. Featuring dynamic photography from M.W. Reynolds’ product brands and bold statements from the brand messaging, we designed a series of branded graphics for use in M.W. Reynolds’ social media, collateral and in-store signage.

WEBSITE REDESIGN

M.W. Reynolds was still using its first website, which was designed in 2005. Needless to say, the design, functionality and features were all extremely outdated. dfine re-designed the website homepage as a first phase, incorporating the refreshed brand identity and new brand messaging and brand design. We also brought it up to speed with a responsive design and a cleaner, more sophisticated layout, and added an email marketing signup form as an additional way for M.W. Reynolds to communicate with its customers. dfine Branding will re-design the remaining website pages and possibly incorporate an e-commerce platform for online merchandise sales in a second phase soon.

Next, we established a social media presence for M.W. Reynolds, including the brand’s first-ever Facebook and Instagram accounts. We grew an initial following for the brand on both platforms with a combination of organic and paid social media efforts, and continue to manage the brand’s social media marketing to broaden and engage with its customer base, vendors and suppliers.

EVENT MARKETING

As the finishing touches were put on the store, M.W. Reynolds was ready to open its doors to the public in its new downtown Denver location just off the 16th Street Mall. With goals of informing current customers about the store’s new location and targeting new customers through its prominent downtown location, dfine managed the grand re-opening marketing for the store. We developed and implemented a strategic event marketing plan that included writing, designing and producing two direct mail postcards and HTML email marketing blasts, publishing the grand re-opening event details on a variety of Denver-area publication and online event calendars, as well as social media marketing specifically for the event. The two-day event—complete with vendor giveaways and demonstrations—yielded a successful turnout!

ENVIRONMENTAL BRANDING

In preparation for the new store’s opening, dfine Branding consulted with M.W. Reynolds on environmental branding for the exterior and interior signage and interior wall art. With a nice foundation of floor-to-ceiling rustic reclaimed wood finishes in the retail store as a backdrop, dfine designed and produced large-format black and white photograph prints to decorate the space and incorporate a modern, yet classic artistic element. We also designed, built and produced a custom wood-framed sidewalk sandwich board sign to help attract visibility from the busy 16th Street pedestrian mall and Light Rail stop directly across the street. Additionally, we designed and produced a temporary vinyl banner for the storefront while finalizing the design, production and installation of the permanent exterior sign.

MERCHANDISE + COLLATERAL DESIGN + PRINT

Finally, with all other pieces in place, dfine designed and produced several merchandise and collateral items for M.W. Reynolds, including business cards and paper shopping totes. We selected a natural, durable paper for the business cards, which feature the monogram version of the brand’s updated logo identity. Our communication team also worked with our design and merchandise teams to add a descriptive tagline, “Shooting | Fly Fishing | Motorcycles | Apparel” to various placements of the M.W. Reynolds logo on these collateral pieces, as well as the environmental signage and social media graphics to help describe the business to members of the target audience who hadn’t previously heard of M. W. Reynolds but may see the logo on the store sign, on a shopping bag carried by another customer, or on a social media ad—all with a goal of helping to increase visibility and brand awareness for the store.